2016 - APR - Fires And Explosions 2

Note: People just saw 'something fall from the sky' and ignite a brush fire near coastal Hollywood (Florida) too, on the southern tip of Florida, mentioned in the 2016-04-15 update. Nothing was found though. That was very likely an atmospheric gas plume igniting above the ground then burning its way through the cloud of gas toward the ground, which is why nothing was found yet it looked like something was falling. Sometimes the gas plumes will explode too. Some of these 'mysterious explosions' in recent times have left a 'sulfur smell' behind. When that happens, there's likely some hydrogen sulfide in the gas plume. Otherwise, it's probably mostly or entirely methane...

Quote: "The fire was reported by a neighbor in the 200 block of Canvasback Drive about 2:15. The neighbor heard the truck start by itself and reported flames coming from the cab. Firefighters were able to save the MAC tools inside but the $40,000 truck is considered a total loss."

Note: At least it didn't drive off with his tools! The most memorable example of a fiery self-starting vehicle was when an unoccupied boat burst into flame in the middle of the night, started itself, then tore across the harbor while burning, hitting other boats, in coastal Coffs Harbour (Australia), mentioned in the 2013-05-03 update...

Note: This SUV burned about 5 miles from where the college student, man, 20, just died, at Cabra Hall at Loyola University in New Orleans, mentioned in the 2016-04-14 update. Here's a Google Maps link that shows both locations...

Quote: "A fire in East Providence that started in a boat in a driveway. Officials say it happened around 12:30 a.m. Saturday at 208 Mauran Avenue. Fire crews say the boat owners were not home at the time."

Quote: "Investigators have yet to determine the cause of the fire; but Antonio Siano, 56, said he saw fire spread from underneath a parked van to nearby houses. The van had not been used in three years."

Quote: "Late at night of Apr 15, 2016, a fire broke out aboard the 'Othello', 3917 ts (EU-No.: 02332309), in the port of Düsseldorf. The fire Brigade was alerted short before midnight. When the fire fighters arrived on Scene, dense smoke emerged from the foreship. The fire had broken out in the battery room of the ship."

Quote: "A 50-year-old man was today charred to death when a bus caught fire in Pallia town here. The incident occurred in the wee hours when Om Prakash, a resident of Bhanpur village and the conductor of the bus, was sleeping in it, Circle Officer L D Bharti said."

Quote: "One resident told WBTV that 'two explosions' shook his house and that there 'were flames higher than the trees and fire trucks coming from everywhere.' Other residents described windows rattling and the ground shaking."

Quote: "About 15 scrap vehicles at a nearby business were destroyed in the flames."

Note: The cars may have ignited all three of the above brush fires. It's not like parked vehicles will burst into flame and only destroy homes and businesses; they'll ignite whatever's nearby that's flammable, like brush...

Quote: "Residents of a Wake Forest neighborhood told investigators they heard explosions before a fire caused heavy damage to a Taylor Street home. Firefighters tell CBS North Carolina the call came in just after 10 p.m."

Note: The Delhi explosions were blamed on cooking cylinders. Could be, but maybe the cooking flame ignited some built-up methane and that was what caused the explosion. What were the methane levels in the air and in the ground at these buildings? Ah, nobody is even checking, so no one will ever know what caused these explosions. These are the 114th, 115th and 116th residential explosions in 2016...

Quote: "MNZ it had received an initial call from the FV Amaltal Columbia about the fire at approximately 5:24 a.m. local time (1724 GMT) and a mayday call from the boat at around 5:30 a.m. MNZ added that vessel is currently making its way toward Lyttelton port at about seven and a half knots."

Quote: "A bus fire slowed traffic early Monday evening on Interstate 40 east near Nashville Shores. Cameras from the Tennessee Department of Transportation show the bus on the side of the road between Old Hickory Boulevard and Stewarts Ferry Pike."

Quote: "Items inside included two semi-trucks, a grain truck, two large flatbed trailers, an 8-row corn planter, three tractors and other equipment as well as 200-plus round hay bales and a large amount of square hay bales."

Quote: "A truck was destroyed by fire on the South Eastern Freeway overnight. The Country Fire Service was called to the fire, on the Stirling off ramp near Bridgewater, just after 1.30am. Two CFS crews attended the scene and worked to save the two trailers. But the prime mover was destroyed, causing damage estimated at $150,000."

Quote: "Police are still investigating. They say it’s too early to tell if it’s connected to the rash of car and home arsons across the city. No one has ever been arrested for those crimes."

Note: They never eliminated accidental causes - like hydrogen sulfide's reactivity with rusty iron/steel and electrified copper - for any of those fires, which means they don't even know if there WERE any crimes, so they're just making assumptions based on ignorance. Competent investigators don't make assumptions...

Quote: "Cemetery Director Richard Winter said the garage was the main building which contained all of the equipment for cemetery grounds workers, including lawn mowers and plows. The main building and a smaller building to the east were called a total loss."

Quote: "Const. Josh Swanback of the Fort St. John RCMP said a number of homes in the area have been evacuated because of three large fires. One fire is burning near Baldonell, one near Charlie Lake on Highway 29, and one further north of Fort St. John on the Alaska Highway, he said."

Quote: "DriveBC reports Highway 29 has been closed in both directions from Bear Flats to Halfway River Bridge because of a blaze."

Quote: "When investigators arrived on scene they found evidence that a trailer parked next to the home had exploded and caught fire. The man's body was found behind the trailer. Police say he was found unresponsive. At this time investigators aren't sure if the man's death was caused by a prior medical event or if he was killed in the explosion."

Quote: "I'm standing out on my balcony and enjoying a cigarette like I normally do, and the next thing I know I hear just a big old boom, and the whole building just starts shaking. And when I look down, I see apartment 2's door just flying, boom, it hits his car, and the whole windshield cracks and all the windows shatter..."

Quote: "There were chaotic moments early Tuesday morning for a Tempe couple, after they reported hearing an explosion and then seeing flames in their backyard. The fire started in a duplex near Scottsdale and Curry roads. Tempe fire says the call came in around 2 a.m."

Quote: "The Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP) confirmed that the extremely hot weather in Metro Manila triggered the fire at the garage of the Five Star Bus Company on Don Carlos Revilla Street, Pasay City last Tuesday, where seven bus units were burned."

Note: Hah, yeah, like they've never had hot weather in the Philippines before...

Quote: "A fire that destroyed a tractor-trailer rig hauling building supplies Tuesday morning also played havoc with commuters on state Route 78 through San Marcos to Escondido. The blaze sent up a giant column of flames and black smoke from the eastbound right freeway shoulder east of Nordahl Road just inside the Escondido city limits shortly before 6:30 a.m., the California Highway Patrol said."

Quote: "Drivers faced delays this morning following a lorry fire, which blocked a motorway slip-road for several hours. The blaze happened on the slip-road from the A20 Ashford Road to the M20 junction 8 roundabout for Leeds shortly before 7.30am. The lorry which burst into flames, had been carrying a load of sand."

Quote: "Firefighters have tackled a fire that broke out in a van while it was parked in an Inverness street. The emergency services were alerted to the incident in Paton Street, close to Haugh Road, at about 08:20. Police Scotland said Scottish Fire and Rescue Service dealt with the incident quickly. Police added that the fire was not suspicious."

Quote: "A section of U.S. 264 in Hyde County is closed as a result of a forest fire in the Alligator River Wildlife National Refuge. The fire is located near Whipping Creek Road, south of Stumpy Point and north of Engelhard near the Long Shoal River bridge."

Quote: "A neighbor said an explosion was heard before smoke started rising from the back of the two-story house. 'Sadly, the house was just sold and I think they just moved in this past weekend,' the neighbor said. 'No one was home when it happened.'"

Quote: "Firefighters were back at the Modesto Auto Wreckers yard Wednesday night, after battling a blaze there twice Tuesday. Wednesday’s call came in at 10:36 p.m., said Modesto Fire Department Battalion Chief Hugo Patino. Unlike Tuesday’s efforts, against an initial fire thought extinguished that reignited later in the night, Wednesday’s was a new fire in a different area of the wrecking yard at Crows Landing Road and Seventh Street, he said. At least a dozen cars were burning, compared to about 20 that caught fire Tuesday."

Quote: "Malcolm and Sharon, who have children who attend the school, told the Herald Sun they were woken by a loud explosion after 5am. 'It was a big bang, a loud bang, like an explosion,' Malcolm said."

Quote: "The kids mother parked the car on the Biezeveld in Rotterdam and asked the boy to stay in the car with his 9-month-old sister while she quickly went to get something from inside the house. While the mother was away, the car suddenly caught fire. The boy did not hesitate for a second. He got out of the car and ran to fetch his mother, who managed to get the baby out of the car seat."

Quote: "Four crews from Lincolnshire Fire and Rescue have attended at the fire at the end of Webb Street. The car port and three vehicles inside have been severely damaged, as well as the rear doors of two properties."

Quote: "Quijada said the fire destroyed about one-third of the building, and may have caused significant damage to one granite machine and as many as three forklifts. While official estimates are pending, Quijada believes the fire may have caused at least $500,000 in damages."

Quote: "A burned-up tractor was found partially inside the barn structure, which caused concern for the homeowner. The tractor was left on the east side of the structure before the fire. 'The tractor caught on fire on the outside and kind of drove itself to the inside,' Walton said. 'I know that kind of sounds weird.'"

Note: Seen similar things happen enough in recent times that a tractor starting itself and driving around with no driver doesn't sound all that weird anymore...

Quote: "It happened just before 9 p.m. Thursday in the 2100 block of Harrison Lane. According to authorities, preliminary reports suggest the blaze started in a vehicle that was parked in the carport at the home."

Quote: "The woman was not injured in the incident, but appeared to have suffered from an unknown medical incident."

Quote: "Officials say the driver appeared to be suffering from a medical incident and was not cohesive enough to follow instructions from rescuers -- and pushed the accelerator during the initial extrication, causing the vehicle to go further down an embankment."

Quote: "Hotel guests drove their soot-covered vehicles from beneath Osprey Apartments this morning to check for damage in the bright light of day. The underground car park where at least one car was extensively damaged by fire yesterday afternoon was in near complete darkness this morning."

Quote: "Gray Fire Chief Kurt Elkanich said the two-car garage at 8 Main St. was destroyed along with four motor vehicles. Only one of the vehicles was in the garage at the time of the fire, which was reported around 2 p.m."

Quote: "A car was destroyed in a garage fire Thursday morning in Winnipeg. Police officers patrolling in the North End around 5:30 a.m. spotted smoke and discovered the single-car garage ablaze on Cathedral Avenue near McPhillips Street."

Quote: "Manhole smoking in Wigton(Allerdale) 22 Apr 2016 At 13:15 firefighters were called to a manhole smoking and with flames come out in North Road, Aspatria, Wigton. The road was closed while the electricity staff isolated the power. Firefighters then put out the fire and cooled the area to allow the electricity company to fix the problem."

Quote: "New South Wales Greens MP Jeremy Buckingham has released vision of himself on a boat sparking a kitchen lighter above the Condamine River. 'Holy f***. Unbelievable. A river on fire,' he exclaims in the video. 'The most incredible thing I've seen. A tragedy in the Murray-Darling Basin.' Mr Buckingham said the river held the flame for more than an hour."

Quote: "On Apr 22, 2016, around 11 a.m. a fire broke on board of the 'Green Klipper', being dry docked in dock 1 at Gryfia Marine Ship Repair Yard in Szczecin, which caused tremendous smoke. Seven fire engines were able to get fire under control several house of firefighting around 2 p.m. Firefighters still working under the deck had to dismantle parts of the hull, look for sources of ignition."

Quote: "Aboard the 'Shao Dong Ji 958' a fire broke out in the living quarters on Apr 21, 2016, at 11.30 p.m. The ship was on inner waterway in the Suzhou area with 1200 tons of coal on board. The Suzhou Rescue Center evacuated the crew with a Coastguard boat, while a firefighting team boarded the vessel and got the fire under control in about one hour."

Quote: "7:55am A semi truck fire on northbound I-5 by the Portal Way interchange has been reported. Whatcom County Fire District 7 units are responding."

Quote: "9:30am There was another vehicle fire this morning. A pickup truck on fire was reported by law enforcement on the scene with the pickup truck owner. Fire was dispatched to the location, Portal Way and Faris Road."

Quote: "A massive fire gutted a truck body building workshop at Ubalenagar in Wagholi during the early hours of Friday. The fire completely destroyed six trucks, including four brand new trucks. It also destroyed material used to build truck bodies."

Quote: "A Rollin Township home was destroyed by fire early this morning, April 22, while its owner was out of state. The Addison Fire Department was dispatched at 6:13 a.m. to the home of Geraldine Dart at 5101 Hallenbeck Highway near Round Lake."

Quote: "Washington DC’s Tenleytown and Friendship Heights Metro stations were evacuated after reports that an explosion in a mechanical room had caused a fire and heavy smoke. Witnesses describe a chaos and poor communications by metro staff. READ MORE: 154 people stuck on train in underwater tunnel to DC People reported hearing blasts and seeing flames and smoke underground. Social media messages described the panic on a smoke-filled Red Line train."

Quote: "Six people are recovering after a massive fire ripped through one building under construction and multiple homes in Winnipeg's Wolseley neighbourhood on Saturday morning, leaving behind melted streetlights and bus shelters and piles of rubble."

Quote: "Meanwhile, a few blocks away and a couple of hours later, a garage fire was reported on Chestnut Street. That fire also spread, burning a home and a garage next door. Police say two vehicles were damaged in the Chestnut Street blaze."

Note: From the full hypothesis: "So far as homes are concerned, vacant homes, unoccupied homes and homes under construction will burn hardest and first but the number of occupied homes burning will also be increasing."

Quote: "A fire on a small commercial aircraft at San Antonio International Airport has left the status of all inbound and outbound flights up in the air as both runways for large jets at the airport have been temporarily shut down. No one was injured when the aircraft reported its wheels caught fire at about 8:46 a.m. on Saturday, Evelynn Bailey, an airport spokeswoman said. Emergency crews responded and the fire was extinguished."

Note: These are the 38th and 39th aircraft to smoke/burn/explode in 2016...

Quote: "One crew member, the chief engineer, died in a fire aboard the 'Optimaflot 2' in the Caspian Sea and was adrift in Turkmenistan’s territorial waters 800 kilometers from Russia’s nearest port, Astrakhan, on Apr 23, 2016, at 9.35 a.m. The tanker's crew consisted of 10 Russian nationals and one Kazakh national. The other ten crew members have been evacuated onto the 'Optimaflot 2'."

Quote: "On Apr 22, 2016, around 9 p.m. one of the generators aboard the 'Wave Master 6' caught fire after a short circuit while the ferry was en route from Singapore to Batam Center with 140 passengers on board. Thick smoke emerged, and a short blackout caused panic among the passengers, who ran onto the upper deck."

Quote: "Firefighters were called to the blaze in Low Burnham on the A161, between Epworth and Haxey, at around 4.30am. A Dutch barn containing a combine harvester, HGV lorry and a trailer was involved in the fire."

Quote: "Firefighters were alerted to the incident at a site off Thorncliffe Road, on the outskirts of Leek, at 3.20am today. When they arrived they found fire had broken out in an ice cream van and then spread to to caravans stored nearby."

Quote: "The Tucson Fire Department found two cars in a carport fully involved in flames on the 1300 block of East Drexel Road. The wind-driven flames created hotspots on the roofs of the adjacent Drexel Terrace apartment complex."

Quote: "Firefighters aren't sure if the man had a medical emergency and fell into the fire or if his clothes caught fire and he wasn't able to extinguish the flames."

Note: A woman, 71, just burned to death while burning leaves too, at home in Reeds Spring (Missouri), mentioned in the 2016-04-23 update. Anything you burn now could be contaminated, which means the smoke can knock you unconscious or dead. The easiest way to tell if something is contaminated is to burn it and breathe some smoke from the fire. If you don't fall unconscious or die then it was safe...

Quote: "Dudley Fire Chief Dean Kochanowski said an RV that was up against the house caught fire and the fire spread to the home. 'There was a person inside the RV that unfortunately couldn't be saved,' said Kochanowski."

Quote: "A tractor trailer fire shut down a portion of Interstate 81 last night. Fire crews from Whitney Point and Lisle were dispatched to I-81 near exit 8, at around 8:30pm. Exit 8 was temporarily shut down while firefighters doused the flames. Scanner reports indicate that cattle were being hauled by the truck."

Note: These are the 747th, 748th, 749th, 750th and 751st tractors/tankers/semis to burn in 2016...

Quote: "The incident began at 9:30 a.m. when a U-Haul truck driven by Gerald E. Gavlak, 54, of Elyria, caught fire as Gavlak was headed northbound. He pulled the vehicle off into the emergency berm. According to troopers with the New Philadelphia post of the Ohio Highway Patrol, the truck was a total loss. Gavlak told troopers he was returning from Florida, and all of his possessions were in the truck."

Quote: "The blaze was reported at 12:53 a.m. at 8429 Sepulveda Blvd., according to Los Angeles Fire Department spokesman Brian Humphrey. At least two vehicles were reported on fire in separate service bays at an L-shaped row of auto repair firms, Humphrey said."

Quote: "The shocked businessman said: 'It was about quarter to ten. I was just behind the bar when I suddenly heard a loud bang and saw a flash. There were several explosions and huge balls of fire coming out of the pavement outside. I came out of the door and there was a big ball of flame. The fireballs must have been around 12 feet high.'"

Quote: "Police said one car exploded, and that led to the others becoming engulfed in flames. The fire was under control by 8:30 a.m. The only person hurt was the driver of the car that exploded. Police said he was standing outside the vehicle when it exploded."

Quote: "The 'Spob Kapuas', 3540 dwt (IMO: 9672624), suffered an explosion and subsequent fire in the afternoon of Apr 25, 2016, in the South China Sea while en route from Pontiak, Kalimantan western coast, to Merak, in waters of East Belitung. The loaded ship had a crew of 16 on board, at least two of them suffered burns, one was in critical condition."

Quote: "A fire broke out on the 'Ulysses' on Apr 25, 2016, at the 2.40 a.m. the Holyhead to Dublin crossing. The ferry was close to docking at Dublin Port when the small fire was detected at 5.45 a.m. It started in a lorry cab, however the cause has not yet been established."

Quote: "Crews attended reports of a vehicle on fire in front of the entrance to flats. One hosereel and one breathing apparatus were used to extinguish the fire. A 33 year old occupier of the flats fainted and received treatment from ambulance crews."

Quote: "Another person at the scene complained of chest pains and was taken to the hospital for evaluation, Wachter said."

Quote: "The flames broke out in a convenience store on Long Beach Road just after 4:30 a.m. and quickly spread through several other stores and an apartment building. Up to five buildings were involved, and one building collapsed to the ground."

Quote: "The northbound lanes of Highway 115 at Tapley Quarter Line remains closed to traffic as crews clean up an earlier tractor trailer fire. Cavan Monaghan fire-fighters were called to the scene just before 7 p.m."

Quote: "The fire was reported around 2:06 a.m. in the 3700 block of Gibson Road, according to the Los Angeles County Fire Department. Heavy smoke was reported in the back of the two-story apartment building. It was determined the fire began inside the carport in the rear and spread to the apartment building, fire officials said. Five vehicles, including a motorcycle, located in the carport were torched in the blaze."

Quote: "Witnesses reported hearing an explosion as the fire broke out just after 3 p.m. along West Meadows Blvd. One home was completely destroyed while two other neighboring homes were damaged by the flames, Mount Vernon fire officials said."

Quote: "Cargo ship SUXUZHOUHUO6170 suffered fire in superstructure in the morning Apr 26 on Yangtze river near Zhenjiang, while sailing from Jiangdu to Hubei Huangshi with 2300 tons of coal on board. Firefighting tugs, rescue and police boats were deployed in fire fighting, in several hours fire was put under control, no injures reported."

Quote: Firefighters from Adamsburg, High Park and Penn borough responded to the scene at K Rentals, 6628 Route 30, where three campers were on fire. A Westmoreland County Emergency Management dispatcher said the road re-opened by 11:50 p.m.""

Quote: "It is not the first time South Yorkshire residents have been left puzzled by mysterious explosions. Last October, residents in Long Sandall, Doncaster were left baffled by a massive late night noise with no obvious signs of what had caused the explosion or evidence of damage."

Quote: "A high school field trip came to a stop on the side of the highway when a charter bus broke out in flames. Champaign Central High School students were headed to the Art Museum in Chicago Thursday morning, when the bus caught fire."

Note: This is the 99th school bus to burn in 2016 and this is the 338th bus to burn in 2016...

Quote: "Reports received here said that though Fire Tenders and Villagers made hard efforts to control the fire but a tractor caught fire and the villager Gurdev Singh who was going to leave burning tractor could not saved himself and sustained critical burn injuries. He was brought to nearby hospital but succumbed to his critical burn injuries."

Quote: "Some 16 firefighters arrived at the home in the 6800 block of Northwest 30th Avenue at 12:23 a.m. to find the flames rising about 30 feet in the air, said Capt. Greg May. 'It was one of the hotter fires we've had in a while,' he said. 'One of our [firefighters'] helmets melted.'"

Quote: "A natural gas pipeline exploded in a towering, roaring fireball Friday, destroying a home several hundred yards away, damaging at least three others and creating waves of intense heat that burned a fleeing homeowner as he ran down a road, authorities said."

Quote: "'The heat was so intense that it was burning him as he was running,' he said."

Quote: "'It looked like you were looking down into hell,' said Forbes Road Volunteer Fire Chief Bob Rosatti."

Quote: "Arson investigators were looking into the cause of the fire, Stewart said, noting that 911 callers reported hearing an explosion."

Quote: "'The house next door exploded. Like a big explosion - it blew out all my windows in my office. It was pretty scary, but I didn't expect it to burn down immediately like it did,' John Volz said."

Quote: "Tyler told us it was about a 400-yard swim to safety. He said they couldn't get to their life jackets because they were also in the back and flames took over the back of the boat. Fortunately no one was hurt. Nobody knows what caused the fire. The boat was completely destroyed."

Quote: "Officials said the fire started in the garage and worked its way through a portion of the home. The garage appears to be a total loss, and also part of the roof was destroyed. Two cars were charred in the fire."

Quote: "Nearly 100 feet of the pier burned in the blaze, sending billowing clouds of black smoke in the air that could be seen from miles away, he said. The fire department used fireboats to douse the flames."